• Johnny Adams said he had a "sub-par" performance after the game, and he was probably unhappy about the two completions Broncos wide receiver Matt Miller had against him, one for 40 yards on a great throw by Joe Southwick. It was the only two times Southwick threw in Adams' direction.

• Adams came up huge, though, with tackles on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter, and he effectively shut down his side of the field. Boise State attacked Darqueze Dennard most of the night, but Dennard led the Spartans with three pass breakups.

• Tony Lippett had a lot of things go wrong against Boise State, but he led wide receivers with three receptions. Despite his struggles, Lippett showed flashes of being a playmaker, too, and that's what Andrew Maxwell needs on the outside. Show some patience here, Spartans fans.

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• Bennie Fowler said he was ready to be Michigan State's No. 1 wide receiver, and Maxwell certainly was looking his way. Fowler was targeted nine times, but came up with only two receptions.

• Maxwell was steady on the opening drive, and the final two. He was scattered in between with three interceptions, two of which were his fault. On the screen pass that went off Larry Caper, Maxwell should have thrown it away or taken a sack. And then he missed Bennie Fowler for a wide-open touchdown. But he still threw for 248 yards.

• Speaking of tight end Dion Sims, his 18-yard catch down the right sideline on the go-ahead scoring drive was a thing of beauty. Maxwell made a good throw on the run. And guess who was there for the blitz pickup: Bell. Didn't that guy do enough?

• Will Gholston wasn't credited with a tackle, but he wasn't invisible on the field. He batted a Southwick pass away in the first quarter and forced him to throw another away later in the game. He also was around the pile many times as the Spartans swarmed to stop the run.

• Anthony Rashad White had just two tackles, but he was a big reason why Michigan State limited Boise State to 37 yards rushing. He also had run support from starting free safety Jairus Jones, who was second among Spartans with six tackles.

• Kudos to the Boise State cheerleader who got up laughing after being clipped by Broncos wide receiver Mitch Burroughs on a pass through the end zone. Watching from the press box Friday night, I was a little worried.